HOUSE hunters must have ties with Moss Side or work in the public sector to buy a `low-cost' home at the new Maine Road development.

HOUSE hunters must have ties with Moss Side or work in the public sector to buy a `low-cost' home at the new Maine Road development.

Sixty of the 474 homes at the old Manchester City football ground will be made available under shared ownership schemes.

This means first-time buyers can get on the property ladder with a 50 to 75 per cent stake in one of the homes, while paying rent to the developers on the remaining portion.

Of these, three-quarters will be available to people with connections to Moss Side or Rusholme, with the remainder offered to key workers - NHS staff, teachers, social workers and police staff - buying a house for the first time.

The Maine Road development, being built by Lowry Homes, also hopes to attract larger families and young professionals.

But local resident Terry Brandy, a community worker in the area, said he didn't think enough low-cost homes had been set aside.

He said: "By setting aside just 60 affordable homes, we risk a situation where we have a divided Moss Side - one well-off and fashionable, the other marginalised."

Coun Alistair Cox said the affordability scheme was a step forward, but admitted he would have preferred to see more affordable homes set aside. He said: "There can never be enough affordable housing but we have to be realistic about our resources."

It is expected that local Roman Catholic primary schools, St Edward's and Bishop Bilsborrow, will move to a new building on the estate, while talks are being held with the primary care trust about building a health centre.

Social landlords Mosscare have been asked to manage the affordability scheme.

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